"...the subject which will be of most importance politically is Mass Psychology. ... The populace will not be allowed to know how its convictions were generated. ... As yet there is only one country which has succeeded in creating this politician’s paradise.” - Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society, 1960.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Mention of CIA Banned From Gitmo Trial

by Eric Umansky - July 28, 2008www.propublica.org

Plans for a war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay have long faced intense criticism, including from the tribunal's one-time chief prosecutor. The first trial started last week: Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden, has been charged with conspiracy and material support for terrorism.

No records of the agency's interrogations of Salim Ahmed Hamdan can be subpoenaed, and no agent can be called to testify about what he or she learned from Osama bin Laden's former driver.

When defense attorney Harry H. Schneider Jr. attempted to demonstrate how many interrogations Hamdan had undergone in the months after his November 2001 arrest -- at least 40 -- he couldn't list the CIA along with more than a dozen other agencies including the Secret Service and what was then known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The prohibition against naming the CIA came in a "protective order" issued by the court at the government's request. The tribunal's deputy chief prosecutor, Army Col. Bruce A. Pagel, couldn't say which agency sought the shield or what arguments were made to justify it.

We just traded e-mails with journalist Jonathan Mahler, a New York Times Magazine writer and author of the forthcoming book on Hamdan’s case, The Challenge. Mahler said he’s not aware of any direct proof that the CIA interrogated Hamdan -- with "enhanced interrogation techniques" or otherwise -- but there was "a big date gap in the catalog of his interrogations."